Take Care
by I'maMePanda
Summary: Our boys might have a hard time saying the actual words, but there are lots of ways to say you love someone. A series of short one shots in multiple 'verses. Some shorts written by me, some by MamaBear2Two.
1. ATF OT 'verse I'maMePanda

A/N: Hi readers :) These little shorts/ficlets are written either by me or MamaBear, rather than a collaboration-though we edited and bounced ideas off each other enough they kind of our anyway. *waves* MamaBear here, I am pretty excited for these little shorts/ficlets! :) They were inspired by a text post one of us saw on FB (funny how you forget who) about different ways to say I love you, I can't find a link, but had saved the meme, that's the cover image :) There's not been any real rhyme or reason to how these have been written, simply 'as they come', and there will be more! ;) Yep, and this one will probably be updated on Ao3 first for those of you who follow either of us there, unlike most of our works, as either of us can upload that way.

We hope you enjoy these and we adore your reviews :)

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Nathan eyed the shaggy haired sharpshooter as he slid into the booth across from him. He looked tired, skin pale under the mountain tan, and more than just a bit like a kicked dog. "How you doing?" Probably, if Nathan had pulled off casual a bit better he wouldn't have gotten Vin's shoulders hunching in or the stubborn sounding one word answer.

"Fine." Knowing Vin was physically fine, even if the lecture Travis had given him for his superman leap down onto a last stubborn target was still burning in his ears, Nathan nodded and took a swallow off his mug. He'd said his own piece when they were wrapping up the bust, and while part of him still itched to know what the hell the man had been thinking, he would say no more. Vin slumped even more, and Nathan saw his eyes fall on the platter of Inez's chicken quesadillas he and Josiah had started on before the older man had begged off, stiff muscles from their long week catching up with him. Nathan pushed it over in front of Vin.

"The rest's yours." Vin looked up just enough to grin a little at him as his hand grabbed a slice of the still lukewarm food, before turning his attention to demolishing it. Nathan sat back a little deeper in the squishy booth seat, wondering if or when the rest of the team would show up and grateful that they'd all made it through the day.


	2. OSFTSB 'verse MamaBear2Two

Buck pulled into the apartment complex's parking lot, sighing heavily as he put the Bronco in park. What a long ass day. Leave it to Ezra to turn a simple outing into a need for backup. It was like all Ezra's good luck got used up in his games of chance. His head banged softly against the headrest and he took a few minutes to just rest in the near silence of the vehicle's interior. He knew the kid had probably gone to bed, he'd called him to let him know he'd be home later than expected.

Having a member of their team suddenly be 16 again, was harder than he'd ever expected- not that anyone could ever really prepare for something like that. He'd kinda thought that by now, a few weeks in, it'd be starting to normalize. But, there was just nothing normal about it. Add in that this particular kid could manage to find trouble in an empty room-

He jolted as his cell began ringing, knowing who it was before he even looked. Flipping it open, he grinned at the name on the screen, as well as the time. It took 20 minutes to get from Cowboy's ranch back to the CDC. It'd been exactly five minutes longer than that since he'd pulled out of Larabee's rutted driveway.

Hitting the green answer button, he shook his head when before he could even speak, Larabee's voice came through, gruff as always, "You home?"

"Just pulled in, Pard," he answered, turning off the engine.

"Good."

Grabbing his wallet, he opened the truck's door, "How's Hoss?"

"Sleeping. Or, he better be." The tone of Chris's voice had Buck snorting as he got out of the Bronco and shut the door.

"You can't _make _the kid sleep, Stud."

"Watch me." Chris intoned in an almost growl, "You too. Go to bed."

Buck chuckled as he walked towards the complex. Their leader was more of a mama hen than any of the rest of them put together, but he wasn't about to tell the man that.

"Night, Pard."

"Night, Buck."


	3. ATF OT 'verse I'maMePanda 2

Nathan sighed and rubbed a hand over his face once he was in the kitchen. He was glad he'd talked Ezra into coming here when he'd balked at the ranch-there wasn't anyway he was going to let the man go back to his apartment just yet, not with an arm in a sling, a tightly wrapped ankle he really shouldn't be on, and bruises scattered every which way. But Lord, that man could be tiring when he tried. "So, how's the patient?" Rain's voice was just a little teasing as she paused in the middle of washing greens, angling her body towards him.

"Cranky and uncooperative."

"Completely normal then." Rain's decisive nod, designed entirely to amuse Nathan had him laughing even as he shook his head at her.

"He hears that pouting's going to be added to the list."

"Probably. You want to start on the carrots?" Nathan nodded, but first he took the time to slide down the counter and peck Rain on the cheek. "I'm still not making a sweet potato pie from scratch at seven at night."

Making a sound somewhere between a grunt and a laugh Nathan informed her, "You're cruel, depriving an injured man."

The look she gave him made it clear that she knew who he really felt was being deprived, "You know, if you want to make it I'm not about to stop you." Deciding he was going to stop while he was ahead, Nathan slid back down the counter and pushed himself off it, heading for the cutting board and the bag of carrots.

"You picked the first movie, quit complaining," Nathan scolded as he pressed the play button, and the soundtrack to the original Pink Panther movie started playing. Ezra harrumphed, but settled back into the armchair he'd glued himself to the moment they got in the door.

Man had spent the evening insisting he should be going back to work on Monday with one breath and complaining that he was an invalid and deserved to be waited on hand and foot with the next. He was sweet as pie with Rain, which was good, because if he'd been as mouthy to her as he was being to Nathan he would've had to kill him. Rain snuggled into his side laughing softly at something on the screen and Nathan let himself relax, breathing in the soft, sweet scent of his wife's perfume and sinking back so the overstuffed couch molded itself to his body. For the next twenty minutes or so the living room was filled with only the sounds of the movie opening and Rain occasionally laughing as Inspector Clouseau fell or knocked into almost everything in his path. Despite all his complaining beforehand Ezra was watching with every evidence of enjoyment, or at least he was paying attention and not complaining. A minute later Ezra laughed out loud at the look on Trubshawe's face as the princess informed him they would not be dining alone and Rain lightly elbowed Nathan, catching his eye and making a face that had him choking back a laugh. Yeah, Ezra liked to complain, but as exasperating as it was Nathan was starting to figure out a lot of it was just for show.

Not all of it, by any means, but a lot.

"Ah suppose Mr. Sellers inclusion in Casino Royale would indicate the watchability of his other films," Ezra drawled it out quietly, an almost absent observation. Nathan rolled his eyes as he shifted his gaze from the screen to Ezra. Of course, it must be the remote connection to a James Bond movie the actor hadn't even been in yet that made this a classic. That boy and James Bond was nearly as bad as JD and his video games.

"You," he said, enunciating for emphasis and with a lazy grin across his face, "are a giant dork."


	4. OW YP 'verse MamaBear2Two

Nathan tightened the cinch on Brevet's saddle before moving on to check his saddle bags, med bag and the satchel he'd hung over the horn. It wasn't an overly long trip, but it was likely to be a few days visit at least. He'd gotten word that the town of Grant's Bend was dealing with numerous injuries due to an elevated ranch war. And he'd begun packing up almost immediately.

Josiah watched Nathan ready that ever solid mount of his, from his spot on the bench across the way. Knowing it was only minutes until the young man headed out to do what came natural to him, he stood up, ready to cross over and see him off. And while he wasn't running into an outbreak of influenza, Josiah couldn't help the concern he felt. Grant's Bend itself was working its way through its own set of troubles, and while Nathan could most definitely take care of himself, Josiah prayed the younger man wouldn't have reason to need too. Nathan felt Josiah's gaze on him before the man spoke a word. Turning a bit, one last pat to Brevet's shoulder as he did so, he looked at the man standing just a few feet from him.

"Little Brother."

A half grin lit up Nathan's face at the older man's words, "Josiah."

"Got everything you need?"

Reaching just behind him, Nathan patted the saddlebags. "Chock full, plus extra."

"Good. Make sure you send word should you need anything."

Nodding, Nathan stepped back to Brevet, sticking a foot in the stirrup, "Course, 'Siah."

As he settled himself in the saddle, Josiah came to stand next to his leg. "Don't over work yourself."

Nathan nodded, speaking quietly, "Course, 'Siah. You know I wouldn't."

Nodding decisively, Josiah stepped back, allowing Nathan to move Brevet away from the livery's outside wall. He'd only gone a few steps when Josiah's voice called out again. "Nathan?"

Gently pulling Brevet to a stop, Nathan looked over his shoulder at the preacher. "Josiah?"

"Be safe."


	5. RB Brothers 'verse MamaBear2Two

Buck watched JD thunder down the stairs like he knew Chris was about to notice one of his chores hadn't been touched. "Where ya going, kid?"

"Told ya already, Buck. To the movies. Ezra's gonna bring me, then go see 'Siah . Remember?"

"Sure do. But I thought the movie didn't start until 2. Barely 11:30 now."

JD rolled his eyes. "Figured we'd stop by the arcade before the movie."

"Didja eat lunch yet?"

Huffing a bit, he gave a quick shake of his head as he turned towards the front door. "I'm not hungry right now. 'Sides, Ezra's leaving soon!"

Buck looked at the boy in disbelief. Kid was always hungry.

"Well, let's just pack you a little something. Hoss too."


	6. OSFTSB 'verse (Pre-deaging) I'maMePanda

A/N: Hi! Hope you guys are enjoying these, writing shorts is still a fairly new thing for both me and Mamabear, and it's stretching the writing muscles in some unusual ways. We're still plugging away at the longer stuff, but this way you get some pieces in the meantime. Also, I've started working 12 hour night shifts, and it can be hard to find time to write anything long, but I'm hoping this is keeping me in practice :) Thank you to those of you who've reviewed so far!

In case you missed the chapter title this is set in the OSFTSB 'verse *before* Ezra is de-aged :)

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The eyes slitting open showing that he was aware of his new audience, the usually sophisticated man sounded both pitiful and peeved as he announced, "Mah head hurts grievously and Ah want to leave this wretched place."

Chris grunted in amusement as he settled into the stiff chair, looking at his unusually blunt undercover agent trussed up with an IV in one arm and a bandage over a gash in his hairline, "Yeah, I bet you've got a headache-maybe next time, between a duck pond or a concrete slab, aim for the duck pond." He purposely didn't say anything about his wanting to leave, hoping that Ezra might drop it for a little while.

Ezra tried to glare at him, but in addition to his headache and the concussion that went with it, that IV was pumping the strong stuff right into him and his gaze settled first around Chris's chin and then swung up to his hairline. Finally, apparently deciding his left ear was close enough for government work, Ezra scolded him, "One might expect to receive a bit more sympathy when injured in the line of duty." Before Chris could respond, having to bite his lip at the overdone reproach in Ezra's voice, the man made a face that reminded him of the time Buck had dared JD to eat stewed brussel sprouts, "That duck pond was festooned with fecal matter and other disgustingly slimy substances, and Ah was wearing mah favorite suit. Truly," Ezra waved his arm for emphasis, and nearly smacked it into the IV pole, "Ah was between a rock and a hard place."

"Choose what doesn't give you a concussion and busted ankle, not that hard," Chris let just a little of the scolding he had saved for later leak into his voice.

Ezra attempted to look imperiously back at him, his sleepy slide back into the pillows propping him up undermining his effort, "Yes, well, hindsight is 20/20."

Chris shook his head, frustrated all over again, then sighed as the southerner's free hand wandered through the air towards his bandaged head. Leaning forward, half rising out of his seat, he caught it in a firm grip, "Don't think you want to do that, Pard."

Making a face at him that was just short of pitiful, Ezra murmured, "Oh, yes. Mah skull has been temporarily compromised."

Rising an eyebrow at this unusual, though accurate enough, description, Chris nodded as he guided Ezra's hand down to the blanket and settled it there. Next the man's eyes wandered to his IV, and Chris tensed, ready to both grab his hand and bark at him if he even thought of trying to pull it out. Instead, Ezra patted vaguely at the line, muttering something that Chris was fairly sure involved a thank you, and his lips quirked against his will. He was glad he'd come back after making the exhausted Vin, who'd played Ezra's bodyguard on this case, go home and get some sleep. Morphine made Vin sick and JD clingy, but Ezra was your typical buzzed and slightly silly medicated person.

And he hated it.

Hell, even some of the take home pain medication got Ezra a little loopy, which tended to make it a showdown between him and Nathan when it came to taking it. They all knew the undercover agent hated the loss of control, but it had taken a while to realize that, as much as he might complain about their 'witnessing his disarray' afterward, he hated not having one of them there even more. Wouldn't sleep half the time.

He'd blame it on paranoia if one of them was foolish enough to bring it up, but his boss wasn't fooled. Not by a long shot.

Ezra's attention wandered off to something on the other side of the room, and Chris let himself sag into the chair with a sigh. Ezra's high flying act had scared the crap out of all of them, his mike picking up the sound of him impacting, half bouncing, half rolling, and the sound had hit Chris's ear with almost the same force. Man was more than lucky all he had was a cracked ankle, swollen knee, and split open head. That and a collection of bruises and scrapes that would have had him moving like an old man even without the other injuries.

His agent had apparently lost interest in whatever in hell it was he'd been staring at, Ezra's eyes closing as he sagged even further into the not very soft hospital pillows. "Mr. Larabee?"

Chris grunted, nodding at Ezra when he seemed to need more encouragement to go on. "Ah have a headache." Well, at least he wasn't asking to go home again.

"Hell, Ezra, you are a headache," Chris said it dryly, Ezra's eyes snapping open and fixing him with an indignant look. Chris just smirked at him, and after a minute the other man returned the expression.

"Ah am certain that mah positive qualities and contributions more than make up for any discomfort Ah mah have inadvertently caused," Ezra's voice was just slightly smug, and Chris opened his mouth to retort with something that might knock some of that smugness away-

Only to stop as he saw a hint of real question in his agent's eyes. Dammit. Closing his lips, Chris nodded. "Yeah, Pard, guess they do." The younger man blinked for a second, clearly not having expected that answer, and Chris was pretty sure he saw the beginnings of a surprisingly bashful smile start to form, but even stoned it was quickly replaced with one of cocky self satisfaction. He glared a little, planning to make clear that that didn't mean he'd be turning a blind eye to any of Ezra's stunts, when a yawn, big and wide, and, judging by the blush that appeared a second later, unexpected, practically cracked Ezra's jaw in two. "Bed." Ezra, not missing a beat even with pink still staining his cheeks, looked at him, looked down at the bed he was lying in, looked back up at Chris and raised an eyebrow. "Smart ass. Go to sleep." For once, his most troublesome agent did as he was told, hand finding the button that lowered the head of his bed flat, a few indrawn hisses and huffs of pain as he made himself comfortable getting Chris's jaw clenching.

Man needed to learn to look before he leapt. Or in this case, use what he saw with an ounce of sense.

"Goodnight, Chris." Ezra sounded like he was already more asleep than awake and Chris reminded himself again that he was saving the lecture for when his agent wasn't high as a kite, letting out a frustrated sigh.

"'Night, Ez." He shifted a bit in the too stiff hospital chair, settling into a position where he might be able to doze. Chris wouldn't be going anywhere for awhile.


	7. RB Bro 'verse MamaBear2Two-I Got This

Howdy Everybody! Here's another Take Care short, (From MamaBear2Two) set in I'maMePanda's Rebuilding 'verse. It's been sitting around in my docs for ages, all but finished except for a few lines that just WOULD NOT COME to me. Ha, isn't that the way?! And then bang! Figured it out and here it is! Hope you enjoy it!

Alsooo, have you checked into I'maMePanda's stuff recently? She has this *amazing* fic called Relative Concerns and it was just updated twice in the last week. It is some of the very best M7 stuff- and it's a Lil' Ez fic! If you are looking for something good to read, CHECK IT OUT! :)

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"Nathan?"

The medic's head popped up, and a tired hand scrubbed across bloodshot eyes.

"JD, something wrong?" his brother's voice was gruff with lack of sleep, and as JD watched, Nathan's head fell slowly back into his hand.

"No...Yes...shouldn't you go to bed, or something?" JD wasn't sure why Nathan seemed determined to stay awake when he'd already done a double shift at work and then took care of Vin. He looked like a dead man walking, but JD didn't think he should say that. JD thought for sure that he'd have fallen asleep standing up by now, if he'd done what Nate had.

But Nathan just shrugged his shoulders, or at least, JD assumed that's what he was trying to do, as the motion was so slight.

"Vin's sleeping. And he's ok-" JD paused, stepping closer as a thought hit him, "he _is_ ok, right?! Nate?"

Nathan's head snapped up again, this time followed by him stretching as he answered. "Vin's fine, JD. We'll watch the cut on his arm and make sure no infection or fever sets in, but he's ok. Though why he was tangling with that ornery horse again, I don't know."

Sighing, JD leaned against the kitchen counter, and a little grin worked at the corner of his mouth, "Cuz Chris told him not too."

Nathan snorted, "Lucky that cut is all he got."

JD nodded, grin fading as Nate's eyes began to close, "Shouldn't you...don't you want to…sleep…." He trailed off when Nathan shook his head.

"Josiah and Ezra ain't back yet from that movie, and Buck went to pick up Chris, his Ram's…" Nathan yawned, his head back in his hand, "in the garage, 'member? Gotta keep an eye on Vin."

JD glanced from Nathan to the living room. "Maybe you should….why don't you go sit on the couch, Nathan? You can still hear Vin from there, right?"

The medic nodded, reaching for the half full coffee mug sitting on the table, "Course, JD. Quit your worrying though. I'm fine."

"Nate-" JD stepped forward, reaching for the coffee mug, but he wasn't fast enough. He watched in both horror and amusement as Nathan began coughing, nearly spitting the mouthful of coffee back into the cup.

"That's Vin's," JD tried not to giggle, "from this morning." He snagged the cup from his older brother, the man still hacking a bit, "Go on, Nate. I'll make you a new cup."

JD looked at the coffee, debating. He was pretty sure Nate liked a bit more milk, but on the off chance he didn't...you could add more easily, but taking it away would be hard. Shrugging, he put the milk back in the fridge and headed into the living room, careful not to spill the hot liquid.

"Nate, here's your-" JD paused and set the coffee on the end table. Nathan was leaning against the arm of the couch and he was sure if his older brother wasn't asleep, he was about to be. Glad he had convinced the stubborn man to move in here, JD waited a few more minutes and then threw one of Aunt Nettie's afghans over the exhausted man.

"Night, Nate." He whispered, "I got this."


End file.
